Post by obannion on Mar 24, 2013 15:39:10 GMT -5

I skimmed this thread and found some good ideas. Here are a few of my own.

Last year I set up 2 ez ups. One of them went half way over my car. We brought a bunch of tapestries that we made and completely covered 3 of the walls of the 20x10 (not the one facing the car) with these. We made the tapestries out of sheets we bought at thrift stores for 1$ and tie dye. This year we are having our 5 kids make some with finger paint.

Post by heylookatme on Mar 25, 2013 21:47:26 GMT -5

I'm having a hard time finding relatively inexpensive battery-powered fans. And those misting fan bottles. I lost mine leaving the Chili Peppers' set last year and so far I've not had any luck finding another. People love it when you spray them with those things. It got me a lot of high fives while standing in the ridonkulously long line to get into Centeroo on Friday..or was that Saturday?

Post by cdevaney on Mar 25, 2013 21:54:21 GMT -5

I'm having a hard time finding relatively inexpensive battery-powered fans. And those misting fan bottles. I lost mine leaving the Chili Peppers' set last year and so far I've not had any luck finding another. People love it when you spray them with those things. It got me a lot of high fives while standing in the ridonkulously long line to get into Centeroo on Friday..or was that Saturday?

As far as the battery-powered fan, check out the Discount Roo Supplies thread. Yesterday people were posting about D!cks Sporting Goods having those 02 battery powered ones on sale for like $15.

Post by gastonian on Mar 26, 2013 12:10:32 GMT -5

I was looking through the tarp thread but for some reason every time I try to post on it I get logged out, so I'll reply here. I'm seeing very mixed opinions. A lot of people seem to think that sheets are Better than tarps because they allow more airflow. Sheets definitely don't reflect heat like some of these tarps or Mylar sheets. It just seems like they would be the way to go. Cover a couple sides of the canopy with tarps on the side of the sun and leave the other sides open for airflow, seems like the best bet to me.

If anyone has actually used tarps or Mylar sheets before, I'd like to hear your opinion.

Post by gaebryl on Mar 27, 2013 13:08:07 GMT -5

I was looking through the tarp thread but for some reason every time I try to post on it I get logged out, so I'll reply here. I'm seeing very mixed opinions. A lot of people seem to think that sheets are Better than tarps because they allow more airflow. Sheets definitely don't reflect heat like some of these tarps or Mylar sheets. It just seems like they would be the way to go. Cover a couple sides of the canopy with tarps on the side of the sun and leave the other sides open for airflow, seems like the best bet to me.

If anyone has actually used tarps or Mylar sheets before, I'd like to hear your opinion.

Our current setup which has developed over time has been to use 2 ezups. One over our sleeping tent and one for shade. On the sleeping tent ezup we use tarps on the 2 sides where the sun will rise and set. These tarps (dense silver grey tarps that do not pass light thru) are pulled out at and staked down at a angle from the top of the ezup to allow airflow under them while keeping direct sun off tent day and night. On all other sides of both ezups we use sheets or tapestries so we get some shade, privacy, and airflow. We have clip on weights we attach to bottom of the sheets if it gets windy to keep them down and less annoying. Doing this plus a handful of O2 battery operated fans has did us well the last few years.

Post by gastonian on Mar 27, 2013 17:19:41 GMT -5

I was looking through the tarp thread but for some reason every time I try to post on it I get logged out, so I'll reply here. I'm seeing very mixed opinions. A lot of people seem to think that sheets are Better than tarps because they allow more airflow. Sheets definitely don't reflect heat like some of these tarps or Mylar sheets. It just seems like they would be the way to go. Cover a couple sides of the canopy with tarps on the side of the sun and leave the other sides open for airflow, seems like the best bet to me.

If anyone has actually used tarps or Mylar sheets before, I'd like to hear your opinion.

Our current setup which has developed over time has been to use 2 ezups. One over our sleeping tent and one for shade. On the sleeping tent ezup we use tarps on the 2 sides where the sun will rise and set. These tarps (dense silver grey tarps that do not pass light thru) are pulled out at and staked down at a angle from the top of the ezup to allow airflow under them while keeping direct sun off tent day and night. On all other sides of both ezups we use sheets or tapestries so we get some shade, privacy, and airflow. We have clip on weights we attach to bottom of the sheets if it gets windy to keep them down and less annoying. Doing this plus a handful of O2 battery operated fans has did us well the last few years.

That's a good idea. I'll have to give it a try. I plan on using a digital thermometer to test my ideas and see which one is actually making a difference

Post by nthingtolose on Apr 2, 2013 7:20:26 GMT -5

I was looking through the tarp thread but for some reason every time I try to post on it I get logged out, so I'll reply here. I'm seeing very mixed opinions. A lot of people seem to think that sheets are Better than tarps because they allow more airflow. Sheets definitely don't reflect heat like some of these tarps or Mylar sheets. It just seems like they would be the way to go. Cover a couple sides of the canopy with tarps on the side of the sun and leave the other sides open for airflow, seems like the best bet to me.

If anyone has actually used tarps or Mylar sheets before, I'd like to hear your opinion.

Our current setup which has developed over time has been to use 2 ezups. One over our sleeping tent and one for shade. On the sleeping tent ezup we use tarps on the 2 sides where the sun will rise and set. These tarps (dense silver grey tarps that do not pass light thru) are pulled out at and staked down at a angle from the top of the ezup to allow airflow under them while keeping direct sun off tent day and night. On all other sides of both ezups we use sheets or tapestries so we get some shade, privacy, and airflow. We have clip on weights we attach to bottom of the sheets if it gets windy to keep them down and less annoying. Doing this plus a handful of O2 battery operated fans has did us well the last few years.

Post by syrinx32123 on May 28, 2013 20:05:33 GMT -5

So, this is my 7th year at Bonnaroo and the only thing that sucks about camping there in a tent is the heat. It sucks to wake up covered in sweat, so I'm wondering if you guys here had ideas for me and everybody else to share about cooling our tents down? A little battery powered fan doesn't go far, so I'm curious if anybody has had some interesting ideas on how to beat the heat and wake up energized and cool!

My tip is to leave the tent "windows" open and unzipped and hope for a breeze to circulate through the tent. And keepone of these $5 misters next your bed.

Post by leeje13 on Feb 26, 2014 11:09:48 GMT -5

Basically it's putting a layer of reflective material in between your tent and your rainfly. I like the idea because it seems less likely to blind your neighbors than a reflective tarp by itself. But I've never tried it and am concerned that it would instead turn our tent into a self-contained oven of death? Any insight or advice? Much appreciated

Post by ryanesta on May 12, 2014 15:59:51 GMT -5

Basically it's putting a layer of reflective material in between your tent and your rainfly. I like the idea because it seems less likely to blind your neighbors than a reflective tarp by itself. But I've never tried it and am concerned that it would instead turn our tent into a self-contained oven of death? Any insight or advice? Much appreciated

^ Yes, I would like to know what opinions are about that above. It seems like there is one side of the material that reflects the heat away without trapping it in on the other side. I'm thinking about putting that weather blanket on the east side/top of my tent (with a canopy above the tent).

Post by kingoftherodeo on May 24, 2014 12:42:31 GMT -5

so do air beds get hot? ive looked around the house to see what supplies i already had in hand. ended up finding a like new air bed and was thinking of taking it to roo and saving few bucks from either buying sleeping bag or those sleeping pads

Post by bdiddy on May 25, 2014 17:25:03 GMT -5

so do air beds get hot? ive looked around the house to see what supplies i already had in hand. ended up finding a like new air bed and was thinking of taking it to roo and saving few bucks from either buying sleeping bag or those sleeping pads

We prefer our cots. We used to use those but between the heat and dealing with keeping air in it we invested in two Coleman cots. They were $50 each at Walmart, are comfortable and way better than the air beds we used to use.

Post by scruffz on May 31, 2014 0:54:50 GMT -5

I was planning on buying an ez-up this year to put over my tent, but with my budget I don't think that'll be possible. WOuld anyone happen to have suggestions for a pretty easy tarp set-up so I can at least have some relief in the morning?